Shield for refrigerating units



Sept. 11, 1928. 1,683,919

R. A. RIEK SHIELD FOR REFRIGERATING UNITS Filed March 28, 1927 6 ttttt @1545 q Patented Sept. 11, 1928.

UNITED STATES RUDOLPH A. RIEK, OF RHINELANDER, WISCONSIN.

SHIELD FOR REFRIGERATING- UNITS.

Application filed March 28, 1927. Serial No. 179,052.

This invention relates to a shield adapted" to be positioned infront of a refrigerating unit supported within a casing of the refrigerator type.

Herctofore it has been the practice to bolt in front of a refrigerating unit a metal plate designed to conceal practically all portions of the unit except that part containing the ice tray or trays. Inasmuch as frequent defrosting operations must be carried on in order to render the refrigerating unit effective, it has been found extremely diflicult or unhandy to remove the shield in order to give proper access to the unit. Furthermore each time any adjustment or repairs to the unit are found necessary this same shield must be unfastened and removed. This operation soon results in defacement of the porcelained meta-l used in the construction of the shield, this defacement being in the nature of inadvertent bending of the metal, chipping of the porcelain finish, etc.

It is an'object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing objections by providing a shield which can be easily placed in or removed from position without the use of special tools and without requiring the services of a skilled mechanic.

It is also an object to provide a structure which can be placed in and removed from position without danger of scarring or otherwise injuring the same.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in' the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, the preferred forms of the invention have been shown.

In said drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of the casing of a refrigerating unit, a shield such as constitutes the present invention being shown assembled therewith in front of the unit.-

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse section through the shield and the adjacent portions of thecasing.

" Figure 3 is a perspective view of the shield.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modificat on thereof.

F igure 5 1s a perspective view of another form of the device, parts being broken away.

trays C.

For the purpose of closing the space surrounding the unit and coneealmg all portions of the unit except the trays and ad acent parts, a shield such as constitutes the present invention is mounted within the casing A in front of the unit. This shield is formed in a single sheet of porcelained metal and includes the shield 1 per se and side Wings 2. An opening 3 is provided in the shield 1 through which the trays are exposed when the shield is set up for use and the top and bottom of the shield are stiffened by backwardly extendingflang'es 4 provided throughout the width of the shield.

The shield 1 is of substantially the same width as the compartment D in which the unit B is mounted. The entire shield with its wings is resilient and when the shield is made to fit snugly within the compartment the wings 2 will press laterally against the walls E of the compartment as shown particularly in Figure 2. If desired the shield can be retained in place by providing outturncd longitudinal flanges 5 along the front edges of the wings 2, these flanges being adapted to spring laterally into grooves or rabbets F formed in the wall of the door opening G. Thus when the door H is open the porcelained metal shield will present an attractive appearance in that it will completely conceal the space above, below and at the sides of the unit and only expose that portion of the unit containing the trays 0. Should it be desired to remove the shield it merely becomes necessary to grasp the upper and lower edges thereof located above and below the door opening and pull the wings toward each other to spring the flanges 5 out of the grooves or rabbets. When replacing the shield the flanges will snap into place.

It is to be understood that it is not necessary to use the flanges 5 because, if desired, the wings 6 of the structure shown inFigure 4; can be sufficiently stiff to support the shield by frictional contact with the walls E. An-

other modification of the shield has been illustrated in Figure 5 wherein the resilient wings 7 are provided in their lower edges with short notches 8 while longer notches or grooves 9 are provided in their upper edges. Studs 10 can be arranged on the walls E of the' compartment D and by sliding the shield upwardly with the upper studs in the grooves '9 the notches 8. can be brought to position above the lower studs 10 and the shield then lowered into engagement with the studs without withdrawing from engagementwith the upper studs. Consequently the shield will be held firmly and cannot be detached without first lifting it out of engagement with the lower studs and then swinging it forwardly and lowering it from engagement with the upper studs.

Obviously by providing a resilient shield detachably mounted in the manner described access to the unit for all purposes can be had more readily than where a shield is secured in place by means of screws or the like. thermore the danger of marring the shield through constant removal and replacement is reduced to the minimum.

What is claimed is: 1. A'shield for refrigerating units in refrigerator casings including a one-piece sheet of porcelained metal bent to provide an intermediate or shield portion and wings at the sides of said portion, there being an opening in the intermediate or shield portion for the passage of the ice tray of a refrigerating unit. 2. The combination with a casing having a compartment therein and a refrigerating unit supported in the compartment, of a porcelained metal shield in front of the unit and within the compartment and forwardly Fur-- sesame extending wings atthe sides of the shield for engagement with the walls of the compartment, said shield having an opening for the passage of an ice tray of the unit.

3. The combination with a casing having a compartment therein and a refrigerating unit in the compartment, of a porcelained metal shield in the compartment in front of the unit, forwardly extending porcelained metal. wings integral with the shield, said wings frictionally engaging the walls of the compartment to support the shield removably, there being an opening in the shield for the passage of an ice tray of the unit.

4. The combination with,a casing having a compartment therein and a refrigerating unit in the compartment, of a one-piece porcelained metal shield removably mounted in the compartment for partly concealing the unit, said shield having resilient side wings frietionally engaging opposed Walls of the compartment, there being an openingin the shield for the'passa'ge of an ice tray of the. unit.

5. The combination with a casing having a compartment therein and a refrigerating unit in the compartment, of a one-piece porcelained metal shield removably mounted in the compartment for partly concealing the unit, there being an opening in said shield for the passage of an ice tray of the unit, saidshield having resilient side wings frictionally engaging opposed walls of the compartment, and inter-engaging means upon the wings and compartment walls for holding the shield in position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature.

RUDOLPH A. RIEK. 

